Looking for John Phillips,b. abt 1842 and Cherokee connection

I am supposed to be descended from a grandmother who was Cherokee. This story is corroborated by distant Phillips cousins with whom I have only recently been in contact. (I know that everyone thinks they have native american in their family.) I have been searching for many many years for John Phillips b abt 1842 and married to Julia A Hall in Gibson County, Indiana. I cannot find his parents. His father was born in Tennessee according to census records. There is one surviving Phillips male in my line and I recently found him and contacted him but have not heard back. If I can persuade him to do a YDNA test, I may get some answers as to what line I am from. If my post sounds familiar to anyone, or if anyone knows of a Phillips family with Cherokee, I would be grateful for any information. (I know that the YDNA will not show female Cherokee, but it could help me find the Phillips ancestor.

Jenifer, at one time, for some reason that I can't remember, many native people in the Ohio valley north of the river,
were listed as Cherokee, by the Indian Bureau. If memory serves me, most were actually Mingo and mixed people.

William Phillips